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L!fe Happens Blu-ray Review

By Rachel Cericola

The Film

Two roommates, one condom; what could possibly go wrong? Nothing as bad as the movie, L!fe Happens.

The two roommates are Kim (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23's Krysten Ritter) and Deena (Kate Bosworth). Apparently, both are so desperate for a night with men they hardly know, they fight over the last condom, caution is thrown into the wind, and Kim ends up pregnant.

This is all within the first 2 minutes of the movie.

A year later, the baby daddy ditches his responsibilities. Surprised? Hardly. However, it doesn't even matter. She's vile and so is everyone in this movie.

L!fe Happens isn't a good movie. In fact, it's hardly a movie. It's like bits and pieces of a movie. Even at 101 minutes, you hardly get to know the characters. If we're supposed to feel bad for a single mother just because she's single, well... that's not a reason. She expects her friends to baby-sit, gets money from her grandfather, lies to the one guy (Geoff Stults) that hasn't crapped all over her, and has dreams of opening a doggie mall. Yes, that's a shopping structure for dogs.

We know even less about Kim's friends, except that Deena loves to party and is apparently a great writer and the other (a blip from Rachel Bilson) is a virgin with several odd (literally) jobs. When Lauren Conrad makes an appearance as someone young women should aspire to be, you know that L!fe Happens -- and you've just wasted 103 minutes of it.

The Picture

Despite the low budget, L!fe Happens is a pretty good looking film. It has its share of soft moments, but overall, it's got some nice grain and sharp images. The colors are probably this 2.40:1 transfer's strongest suit, with a bold, lifelike palette and great skintones throughout.

The Sound

L!fe Happens kicks off with quite the boomin' version of Chamillionaire's hit "Ridin." Those first few moments are the most full this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is for the entire film. From there, it's mostly a front-heavy affair, with the main focus on the film's clear dialogue.

The Extras

It seems a little odd that this release would come without extras. Both director Kat Coiro and star Krysten Ritter wrote the film together. There are no on-screen antics, no bloopers, no word about the large cast, and no commentary with the real-life friends. Did everyone want to distance themselves from this film that badly? I don't blame them.

Final Thoughts

L!fe Happens was made on the shoestring budget of $930,000, so it looks like someone must have called in a few favors. Sadly, the film delivers nothing in return. Yes, L!fe Happens, but that doesn't mean you have to watch it.